The present invention relates to methods of producing patterns from textile fabric and more particularly to methods of producing patchwork patterns from textile fabric.
The art and craft of patchwork has been known for hundreds of years and many beautiful examples of patchwork quilts, patchwork wall hangings and other patchwork articles have been displayed and collected by museums and private collectors. In general, a patchwork article is formed by joining together individual pieces of textile fabric. The textile fabric may be woven or non-woven and may consist of natural fibers such as cotton, wool and linen, and artificial fibers such as nylon, polyester and rayon, as well as blends and mixtures of such fibers. Each piece of textile fabric is a closed geometric shape, for example, a triangle, square or hexagon, with extra material surrounding the geometric shape and forming the border. The pieces are then sewn, or otherwise joined together, to form the overall patchwork article.
There may be said to be two widely used methods of making patchwork, which have been termed the "American" and the "British" methods. For the British method, as explained in the book entitled Your Book of Patchwork by Priscilla Lobley, Taplinger Publishing Company, New York, 1974, a set of templets are obtained. The templets are usually manufactured in aluminum alloy or plastic. Each geometric shape (closed geometric figure) and each size requires two templets which correspond to the geometric shape. The inner templet delineates the portion of the fabric piece which will show in the final article and a slightly larger templet of the same shape is used to delineate the borders, although some may use only the inner (smaller) templet and estimate the borders by eye. The smaller templet for each geometric shape is placed on a suitable paper, a flexible paper such as used in magazines, and the required number of the geometric shapes are traced onto paper sheets using the outer edge of the templet. The templet is randomly placed on the paper. For example, if the overall pattern is to be one hundred hexagons, all of the same size, then one may use a single templet to form traced hexagons. Next, the paper is cut using scissors or a sharp razor to form individual paper patterns. Then the larger rigid templets are placed on the textile pieces and either traced onto the pieces using a pencil or alternatively used as a guide to directly cut the fabric with scissors. In either case, a fabric piece having the general geometric shape of the paper is formed, but larger than its paper pattern, since it has a border on all sides. Each fabric piece is then placed on a paper pattern and its borders folded onto the back of the paper and held in place by temporary stitching. Pins or other fasteners may be used to position the paper pattern on the fabric before the temporary stitching is added. One now has a large number of individual patchwork pieces, each of which has the shape it will have in the final overall patchwork pattern and each of which is formed about an individual paper pattern. The individual textile pieces are then joined, preferably by sewing close to their edges, to form a continuous and interlocking overall patchwork pattern. After part, or all, of the patchwork pattern is formed, the temporary stitching is removed from the paper patterns and the paper patterns are pulled out from the individual patchwork pieces.
The "British method" has been successfully used for many years and provides an accurate overall pattern of the tracing from the templets and the cutting out of the individual paper patterns are done with accuracy. That method is generally used along with overall patterns printed in books, which provide the overall pattern for a square or a number of squares and may indicate the general color that should be used for each of the fabric pieces. Priscilla Lobley's book, mentioned above, for example, gives a number of examples of different overall patterns which may be formed using equally sized hexagons, the differences in the overall patterns being in the arrangement of the colors so that each overall pattern has a different appearance depending upon the systematic use of different colored fabrics.
An alternative method of forming patchwork is the so-called "American method", which has been used for many years in the United States to form quilts and other patchwork articles. For example, this method is set forth in the book 101 Patchwork Patterns by Ruby McKim, Dover Publishing Company, 1961. The American method also uses templets, with one templet being required for each size and shape of the closed geometric figure to be formed. The templets are generally of aluminum or plastic, although home-made templets made from a stiff cardboard or other stiff material may be used. Each of the templets is the exact size of the patchwork piece which is visible on the surface, i.e., without the border. The patchwork pieces are cut by placing a templet on the fabric and outlining the desired shape using a soft pencil or other marking device. The border is not formed using a templet but is judged by eye, that is, one cuts the fabric piece so that there is a quarter of an inch border outside of the geometric figure and completely encircling it. The individual fabric pieces are then sewn together, taking special care that the points meet. The sewing may be done either by hand or by machine, depending upon the intricacy and size of the pieces to be joined. The McKim book is very explicit in stating that the templets should not be made of paper, but rather of cardboard, metal or clear plastic, and that they must be exact in order to obtain an accurate overall pattern. As in the British method, the individual who sews the pieces together generally follows an overall pattern set forth in a book.
The American method, as described above, may be thought to be more simple than the British method in that it does not require an intermediate step of sewing each individual fabric piece to a paper pattern using temporary stitches and the subsequent removal of the temporary stitches and the paper patterns. However, many craftspeople who have experimented with both methods feel that the British method permits a more accurate registration of the individual fabric pieces and is more likely to result in an accurate overall pattern.
It is possible, using either the British or the American method, for the craftsman to personally design the patchwork pattern. Usually such designs may take the form of sketches or other designs on paper which are similar to the patterns found in books. The designer may design one square of the patchwork overall pattern or may even sketch out the entire quilt or other articles. In both the American and British methods, as decribed above, there is no attempt made to assign each fabric piece to a predetermined position in the overall design. Instead, one cuts the number of each size and shape and color desired and uses them in random. For example, one may cut 50 triangular fabric pieces in red and use them interchangeably when a red triangular piece is needed in executing the overall design.